by Susan Valot

Share

L.A. public transportation may lose all funding if bill H.R. 7 passes into legislation as is. Chris Yarzab/Flickr/Creative Commons

The Orange County Transportation Authority and other transit authorities across the country are urging Congress to keep federal public transit funding in place.

H.R. 7 is the bill that would fund a five-year, $260 billion transportation overhaul, with the goal of fixing roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure. But it includes a provision that would wipe out the federal Mass Transit Account, which public transit officials say would eliminate dedicated funding for public transportation. The Orange County Transportation Authority’s Will Kempton says that if part of the bill is approved, the OCTA would lose $58 million in funding — about 19 percent of its already hurting budget for buses.

"Without that, we are going to be looking at having to go back to the actions that we took in the past two years, of again reducing service and potentially laying off employees as a result of the loss of a major source of operating funding," he said.

Kempton is joining with other transit agencies across the country to call on House leaders to add a provision that would keep that funding in place.